To be resilient means to overcome obstacles, withstand difficult conditions, retain hope, and grow from our experiences. As creatives, we persist in the face of challenging schedules, difficult clients, juggling parenting duties, creative blocks, full time jobs, imposter syndrome, the uncertainty of artificial intelligence, and a variety of other road bumps. It helps when you have a community to turn to. During the past 4 years, the members of Illoguild have rallied together to cheer each other up, offer good advice, share experiences, celebrate wins, and help process this thing called life. It has been an honor and treasure to belong to such a group. What started as a critique group became a safe space to be vulnerable and to also be strong. Many of us have been lucky enough to meet in person despite living all around the globe. We remind each other to keep going, keep creating, and to harness the power of resiliency.
While the hosts of Illoguild meet privately, we also offer LIVE sessions for anyone who wants to join our conversation because we know (above all) we really can’t do this alone!
ILLOGUILD Talks:
Join us on the 20th of October for a LIVE Zoom session. All about ‘Resiliency’.
(You’re invited to the LIVE ZOOM for FREE - Replays available for PAID Subscribers)
Illustrator Spotlight:
Jennifer Jamieson is in the illustrator spotlight this month! Jennifer is an Illustrator and Designer living in the sunny English countryside. A few of her illustrated books include: Finn Jones Was Here, Bad Hair Day, and Famous Five: The Painting Puzzle. Learn more about Jennifer at the end of this post.
Reflecting on being resilient:
Damjana Loddelina has a lovely post discussing the challenge of finding your style:
Adam Ming brings us an inspiring Substack about facing resistance:
Carla Hoffenberg reminds us to embrace rejection:
Katie Stack shares a hopeful post about facing a challenge:
Brenda Harris dares us to harness magic by aligning your stars.
Jen Gubicza recently shared a lovely Instagram post about staying open to receiving feedback and how it can make your work even better!
We’d like to hear from you!!
We are approaching a new year and discussing how Illoguild might evolve and grow in the future. What questions, topics, or any other things would you like to see from us? What have you enjoyed so far or has helped you on your journey? Hearing from the Illoguild community would help us move forward. :)
Illustrator Spotlight: Jennifer Jamieson
Jennifer Jamieson loves creating quirky, feisty, and friendly characters and bringing their wonderful personalities to life. She believes every message is best delivered with a pinch of humour, and her characters are never afraid to show their emotions! Jen’s characters break the mould and laugh in the face of societal stereotypes and out-dated expectations.
“I love the idea that we can change the world by the books we create. By giving all children the opportunity to discover the world through books, we will help to create a much more accepting and open-minded society.” ~ Jen
You can see more of Jennifer’s work on her website and Instagram.
Announcements
Congratulations to Carla Hoffenberg who has a new book out:
Harries: The Lifeguard from Bondi Beach is now in stores across Australia, New Zealand, USA and the UK. Bondi Rescue lifeguard, Harries, wasn’t always confident. Bullied as a child for dyslexia, he quickly became sad. But his life changed once he discovered he could see and hear things others might not. With this heightened alertness, Harries can anticipate when someone might be in danger, which led him to carve out a successful 30-year career as a lifeguard, rescuing thousands of people. Harries is a hopeful story about how, sometimes, we need to dig a little deeper to find our special gifts.
Find ALL our scheduled LIVE ZOOMS HERE! It’s a page we keep updated with all our future dates so you can plan ahead.
Join the illoguild on October 20th for a FREE live session, we do these sessions because we are so grateful to have found our small community, and wanted a way to share that with anyone who wants to feel just a bit less isolated - RSVP HERE.
To access to all of our recorded LIVE conversations consider a paid subscription.
We hope this has been useful and inspiring for you. If you would like to help others be inspired – why not share this post?
Links to Illoguild Member Newsletters and Socials
Adam Ming: ‘Ten Minute Artist’ and Adam’s Instagram
Brenda Harris: ‘On The Creative Road’ and Brenda’s Instagram
Carla Hoffenberg: ‘Carla’s Crowd’ and Carla’s Instagram
Chantelle Holt: ‘Chantelle’s Studio’ and Chantelle’s Instagram
Damjana Loddelina: ‘Lemon Tart Bandit’ and Damjana’s Instagram
Jen Gubicza: ‘Rymes with Pizza’ and Jen’s Instagram
Jennifer Jamieson: ‘Jennifer’s Newsletter’ and Jen’s Instagram
Katie Stack: ‘Katie’s Newsletter’ and Katie’s Instagram
Noreen Anne: ‘Creative Canvas by Noreen Anne’ and Noreen’s Instagram
Rose Lihou: ‘Studio Tea with Rose Lihou’ and Rose’s Instagram
Tammy Angelis: ‘Tabbykat Chats’ and Tammy’s Instagram
So wonderful to be sharing everything we have learned as a group (and four years now!)